All of the contestants participating in tomorrow night’s UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort” event tipped the scales today inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. There were a few glitches at today’s weight contest as main event fighter Vitor Belfort failed to make weight on his first three attempts.

Belfort missed his mark by a mere .25-pounds, however lightweight Efrain Escudero was over by a full pound. Both were given an additional hour to lose their extra weight and eventually hit their respective marks.

In addition, UFC announcer Joe Rogan made a surprising announcement that the scheduled lightweight fight between Hermes Franca and Tyson Griffin was changed to an agreed-upon 159-pound catchweight.

Considering Franca came in at exactly that weight, one could conclude that he knew last night he wouldn’t be able to make weight and reached out to Griffin’s camp to see if they would accept the fictitious weight division.

Don’t think that he won’t have to fork over some cheddar to Griffin if that is indeed the case.

Click the media player below if you would like to catch a replay of today’s weigh-ins.

Here is how the weight contest played out:

Preliminary Bouts:

Rafael dos Anjos (155.5) vs. Rob Emerson (155.5)
Vladimir Matyushenko (205) vs. Igor Pokrajac (203)
Eliot Marshall (204.75) vs. Jason Brilz (205.25)
Brian Foster (170.75) vs. Rick Story (170)
Nick Lentz (155) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (155.25)
Jim Miller (154.5) vs. Steve Lopez (154.5)

(Spike TV 9PM ET/6PM PT)

Drew McFedries (185.25) and Tomasz Drawl (185)
Efrain Escudero (157) vs. Cole Miller (155)*

Main Bouts:

(PPV 10PM ET/7PM PT)

Hermes Franca (159) vs. Tyson Griffin (155.5)#
Frank Trigg (170.25) vs. Josh Koshcheck (170)
Paul Daley (170) vs. Martin Kampmann (169.5)
Junior dos Santos (236) vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (226)
Rich Franklin (195) vs. Vitor Belfort (196) (195-pound Catchweight Bout)^

* – Escudero initially weighed in at 157, but eventually hit the 156-lb. maximum for his lightweight bout.

# – 159-Pound Catchweight Bout

^ – Belfort hit the following on his first three attempts: 197.5, 196.5, 196.25.

All of the contestants participating in tomorrow night’s UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort” event tipped the scales today inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. There were a few glitches at today’s weight contest as main event fighter Vitor Belfort failed to make weight on his first three attempts.

Belfort missed his mark by a mere .25-pounds, however lightweight Efrain Escudero was over by a full pound. Both were given an additional hour to lose their extra weight and eventually hit their respective marks.

In addition, UFC announcer Joe Rogan made a surprising announcement that the scheduled lightweight fight between Hermes Franca and Tyson Griffin was changed to an agreed-upon 159-pound catchweight.

Considering Franca came in at exactly that weight, one could conclude that he knew last night he wouldn’t be able to make weight and reached out to Griffin’s camp to see if they would accept the fictitious weight division.

Don’t think that he won’t have to fork over some cheddar to Griffin if that is indeed the case.

Click the media player below if you would like to catch a replay of today’s weigh-ins.

Here is how the weight contest played out:

Preliminary Bouts:

Rafael dos Anjos (155.5) vs. Rob Emerson (155.5)
Vladimir Matyushenko (205) vs. Igor Pokrajac (203)
Eliot Marshall (204.75) vs. Jason Brilz (205.25)
Brian Foster (170.75) vs. Rick Story (170)
Nick Lentz (155) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (155.25)
Jim Miller (154.5) vs. Steve Lopez (154.5)

(Spike TV 9PM ET/6PM PT)

Drew McFedries (185.25) and Tomasz Drawl (185)
Efrain Escudero (157) vs. Cole Miller (155)*

Main Bouts:

(PPV 10PM ET/7PM PT)

Hermes Franca (159) vs. Tyson Griffin (155.5)#
Frank Trigg (170.25) vs. Josh Koshcheck (170)
Paul Daley (170) vs. Martin Kampmann (169.5)
Junior dos Santos (236) vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (226)
Rich Franklin (195) vs. Vitor Belfort (196) (195-pound Catchweight Bout)^

* – Escudero initially weighed in at 157, but eventually hit the 156-lb. maximum for his lightweight bout.

# – 159-Pound Catchweight Bout

^ – Belfort hit the following on his first three attempts: 197.5, 196.5, 196.25.

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes recently weighed in on UFC 103’s main event via his official blog. “Rich and I are good friends and I think he will pull out a victory. I don’t see much of a ground game by either fighter, just a lot of strikes,” Hughes said.

Although it isn’t a complete shocker who Hughes is be pulling for, he was quick to point out the bout could very well be determined by which Belfort shows up to fight.

“Vitor is such a mental fighter. It all just depends on who is going to show up. If a confident Vitor shows up, he could do well; but if a weak-minded, undertrained Vitor shows up, then he’s going to be in trouble,” the former welterweight champion explained.

According to the latest BetUS lines, Belfort will be entering his UFC 103 bout as a slight underdog at +120, with Franklin favored at -150.

You make the call …

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes recently weighed in on UFC 103’s main event via his official blog. “Rich and I are good friends and I think he will pull out a victory. I don’t see much of a ground game by either fighter, just a lot of strikes,” Hughes said.

Although it isn’t a complete shocker who Hughes is be pulling for, he was quick to point out the bout could very well be determined by which Belfort shows up to fight.

“Vitor is such a mental fighter. It all just depends on who is going to show up. If a confident Vitor shows up, he could do well; but if a weak-minded, undertrained Vitor shows up, then he’s going to be in trouble,” the former welterweight champion explained.

According to the latest BetUS lines, Belfort will be entering his UFC 103 bout as a slight underdog at +120, with Franklin favored at -150.

You make the call …

Later Thursday evening, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed that middleweight champ Cung Le has signed on to appear in another major motion picture role and will be forced to relinquish his belt.

With last night’s announcement of Strikeforce’s all-of-the-sudden extremely relevant November 7th CBS card, Coker has confirmed that the Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller middleweight belt will indeed be for Le’s now vacated title.

5thRound.com exclusively reported on August 24th that Miller would take on Shields after a source close to the Miller camp confirmed with us that the bout was all but signed.

It wasn’t until Thursday night that the bout was made official after Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz told 5thRound.com, “Yes, this fight is confirmed.”

“I had a conversation with Cung and he has a lot of respect for Jake and Jason, and he’s got another movie coming up, so he’s asked me if he could step down, which we’re going to honor his request,” Coker told MMAWeekly. “By no means does that mean he’s going to be retired, but he’s going to be unavailable for the next two months.”

Coker did go on to say that he’ll be keeping in touch with Le and hopes to book him for a couple of superfights where Le won’t have the pressure of having to defend his title.

Later Thursday evening, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed that middleweight champ Cung Le has signed on to appear in another major motion picture role and will be forced to relinquish his belt.

With last night’s announcement of Strikeforce’s all-of-the-sudden extremely relevant November 7th CBS card, Coker has confirmed that the Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller middleweight belt will indeed be for Le’s now vacated title.

5thRound.com exclusively reported on August 24th that Miller would take on Shields after a source close to the Miller camp confirmed with us that the bout was all but signed.

It wasn’t until Thursday night that the bout was made official after Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz told 5thRound.com, “Yes, this fight is confirmed.”

“I had a conversation with Cung and he has a lot of respect for Jake and Jason, and he’s got another movie coming up, so he’s asked me if he could step down, which we’re going to honor his request,” Coker told MMAWeekly. “By no means does that mean he’s going to be retired, but he’s going to be unavailable for the next two months.”

Coker did go on to say that he’ll be keeping in touch with Le and hopes to book him for a couple of superfights where Le won’t have the pressure of having to defend his title.

Even though the state of Texas doesn’t require random drug testing for combat sports, the UFC is requesting random drug tests this Saturday at UFC 103 to ensure that they don’t put themselves at risk.

When the UFC last hit the state of Texas at UFC 69, they expected the regulatory body in Texas to provide the drug testing like every other state does. But you know what they say about people who make assumptions, right?

“We have asked for testing to be conducted at the event,” Marc Ratner told MMAJunkie.

A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation spokesperson also went on to say that the state isn’t going to be changing their policy anytime soon. So if an MMA promotion wants to hold an event in Texas, it’s on them to get tested.

Even though the state of Texas doesn’t require random drug testing for combat sports, the UFC is requesting random drug tests this Saturday at UFC 103 to ensure that they don’t put themselves at risk.

When the UFC last hit the state of Texas at UFC 69, they expected the regulatory body in Texas to provide the drug testing like every other state does. But you know what they say about people who make assumptions, right?

“We have asked for testing to be conducted at the event,” Marc Ratner told MMAJunkie.

A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation spokesperson also went on to say that the state isn’t going to be changing their policy anytime soon. So if an MMA promotion wants to hold an event in Texas, it’s on them to get tested.

Wednesday night’s highly anticipated season premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” captured 4.1 million viewers, the largest draw in the reality show’s ten-season history. Obviously, the addition of street fighting phenomenon Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson to the show’s cast helped ratings just a tad.

“The intriguing cast of ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights’ has true mass appeal, and the numbers show that this sport is not just for a niche audience anymore,” said Kevin Kay, Spike TV president.

Prior to the show’s kick-off, “UFC Fight Night 19” was going off live inside the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The night of sensational fights played as a great lead-in for the much talked about show.

You can catch “TUF 10″ every Wednesday at 10PM ET/PT.

Wednesday night’s highly anticipated season premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” captured 4.1 million viewers, the largest draw in the reality show’s ten-season history. Obviously, the addition of street fighting phenomenon Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson to the show’s cast helped ratings just a tad.

“The intriguing cast of ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights’ has true mass appeal, and the numbers show that this sport is not just for a niche audience anymore,” said Kevin Kay, Spike TV president.

Prior to the show’s kick-off, “UFC Fight Night 19” was going off live inside the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The night of sensational fights played as a great lead-in for the much talked about show.

You can catch “TUF 10″ every Wednesday at 10PM ET/PT.